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Dick Appleton takes Irish points
Dick Appleton/Mike GrayThis year's Maxsport Historic Rally Championship took a trip across the sea to Ireland for the 'full-weekender' TDC Irish Retro. Sixteen mainland crews made it over, boosting the entry to 57 cars. The local drivers dominated but GB navigators certainly took their share of the spoils. The top Maxsport scorer was Dick Appleton, accompanied in his familiar Cooper S by Mike Gray.
It was certainly an eventful rally, starting when the critical Holyhead ferry was cancelled and anxious crews tried to squeeze on the next available boat. Most made it but previous winners Geoff Hall/Paul Bosdet got left behind on the quay. The organisers sensibly reseeded the delayed crews at the back of the event; they would be reseeded after the opening Friday prologue anyway. The ferry delay dumped the mainland crews into the busy Dublin traffic where the Cooper of Jon Wood/David Taylor managed to sheer its clutch arm. They missed the prologue but were able to restart next morning having made repairs.
After the prologue both Dick Appleton/Mike Gray and David Mustarde/Mike Burrows were well up the results along with othe mainland crews Paul & Matt Heal, Warren and Jean Chmura, Richard Prosser/Andy Gibson, Roy Perkins/Peter Ward and Peter Scott/Iain Tullie. The lead, predictably, was held by three times winners Eamonn Byrne/Anthony Preston.
Saturday morning saw more tests and regularities where David Mustarde/Mike Burrows found their Alfa Giulia gearbox struggling to select any gear. They thought it was the end of the event until somebody found them a Lithuanian mechanic working away in Dublin. He'd never seen an Alfa before in his life but that didn't stop him working all afternoon and evening to heave out the gearbox, strip it, rebuild it and refit it and all for 200 Euros. They took a lot of maximum penalties but remained in the event, winning the Spirit of the Rally award.
Geoff Hall/Paul Bosdet and Kevin Hasleden/David Kirkham had retired before the eventful night section which was sufficiently tight that it was cleaned by nobody but was won by the Datsun 100A of Frank Lenehan/Cath Woodman. Peter Scott/Iain Tullie were to eventually retire with a broken halfshaft in their Sunbeam Alpine.
More tests and regularities followed on the way to the Sunday afternoon finish where, after two full days and a half-night of rallying, Eamonn Byrne/ Anthony Preston made it four in a row in their Cooper S. Top mainland competitor was Cath Woodman, navigating Frank Lenehan to second place, whilst top mainland crew were father and son Paul and Matt Heal in their MGBGT, followed by Warren and Jean Chmura in their familar pink Citroen ID19. Dick Appleton took top Maxsport points ahead of Jon Wood/David Taylor and David Mustarde/Mike Burrows.
It may have been the first time that we've taken a road-based championship across to Ireland but from the welcome hospitality, the test venues and the sheer craic, I'm sure it won't be the last.
As well as taking the event Dick Appleton also takes the lead in the overall drivers' championship on 55 points, with Jon Wood on 54, John Kiff on 48 and David Mustarde on 46. David Taylor has a clear lead in the navigators' table with 79 points from Mike Burrows and Edward Kiff both on 48.
Photos by www.tonylarge.net
Jon Wood/David Taylor
Warren and Jean Chmura
David Mustarde/Mike BurrowsAdded: 24th April 2008 [permalink]
Grins all round in Cheshire
Roy Gillingham/Andy GibsonSay just one word to the finishers of the Tour of Cheshire and they would all beam from ear to ear like the local cat at the experience they had just had - that word was "Swynnerton". Always a good event the Knutsford & DMC had found a real jewel to embellish it, with an 18 mile test in the military training camp near Stone. Run as a daytime version of a night road-rally it had 14 time controls and 13 manned passage controls, all defined by 170 well-drawn tulips. Crews were apprehensive until they got there but found it worked like a dream - unless of course you turned over two pages at once Mr Sones !
Add in some other excellent test venues, from stately homes to sewage works, some well-judged regularity sections and the atmosphere of a nearly full entry together with celebrity marshals and we had a first rate round of the Maxsport Historic Rally Championship (for all-rounders) as well as the opening round of the Richard Egger Clubmans Championship.
Top Maxsport driver was Roy Gillingham, with Andy Gibson alongside in the MGA. They finished second overall behind maiden-winners Bob and Jeanne Taylor but just one second ahead of the giant-killing 998 Cooper of Jon Wood, accompanied by Paul Bosdet. On what was to prove a successful day for small engines top Maxsport navigator was Heather Appleton, sitting next to her father in their standard 948 MG Midget. Stan was keen to show that you didn't need a highly-prepared big banger to enjoy your historic motorsport - but perhaps he won't try 145 section tyres again after finding that you spin if you try to take Swynnerton chicanes flat !
The Appleton's had spent much of the day in close company with the VW Beetle of John and Edward Kiff - nearly too close on the two-lapper at Prestbury Sewage Works - but John Kiff had to manage without a speedo for much of the day after the cable broke though thankfully the tripmeter continued to function. The Kiffs just lost to the Appletons by one second !
Not many people have a Rover P4 to rally and even fewer have two of them, Robert and Susan McClean brought out their back-up 95hp standard trim version while their regular P4-100 is readied for the Classic Marathon. Both car and crew showed their customary reliability to finish inside the top 20, their biggest problem being Susan sliding about on the leather upholstery !
Last year David Taylor navigated Neil Dowie's GT6 to second place but like several of the top navigators made an error on an early regularity and picked up a big penalty. Time was lost too when they punctured after clipping a Swynnerton kerb. David Mustarde/Mike Burrows had a similarly torrid time and finished well below their usual place. At least they did better than Tony Sheach/Rob Kiff who judged it wiser to switch off the valuable ex-works TR4 when it showed some signs of overheating on a long climb. Regular road-rally crew Simon Cottrell/Jez Harris brought out their Category 3 Sunbeam 1600 but ended their day parked up in Swynnerton.
Updated points tables appear on the 'General' page of the Night Rallying part of the website. This also covers the Silver Jubilee Challenge which has been updated following the Gremlin and Weardale events on 8/9 March. Well done to Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks and to Steve Powell for making the top 10 overall on the Gremlin and particularly to Andy Nixon/Iain Tullie for an outright win on the Weardale where they were the only crew clean, six minutes ahead of the next !
Photos by www.tonylarge.net
Stan & Heather AppletonAdded: 9th March 2008 [permalink]
Jenkins/Brooks return to form on wet Bagger
A month's rain had fallen in just three days in Devon and the lanes were full of shale and debris as the Carpetbagger Rally set out from Charmouth on 19 January. This is marketed as a tough rally for experts being very long and quite unrelenting and attracting the cream of both modern and historic crews, with a Welsh champion, a North-West champion and an East Midland champion, together with two Lombard winners and more than 20 crews with an outright win to their name. The historic entry included the 2007 and 2005 champions and runners-up as well as past winners of the Illuminations and the Targa Rusticana as well as two Le Jog Gold Medal winners. Half the historic entry was made up of Category 1 cars including the pre-60 VW Beetle of John & Edward Kiff. This year's route was presented on pre-marked maps, but each map was in a sealed envelope to be opened only at the start of the relevant section. The event comprised its usual three sections each of 60+ miles punctuated with just brief fuel halts.
The opening section saw the demise of two of the hardest chargers - the Amazon of the returning Wes Massam out with Mike Burrows losing both first and second gears, whilst the RS2000 of the Pedley brothers wasn't seen again - reasons unknown. Geoff Hall/Paul Bosdet had a huge moment on an unmarked hump-bridge and spent some time working on the Cooper S at petrol as a result. Current champions Andy Nixon/David Taylor had lost considerable time fixing a broken throttle cable on their Mexico whilst Dick Appleton/Rick Hands had cut due to navigator sickness. Worth Birkill had clutch problems but navigator and travelling mechanic Dave Harris soon sorted it out. Leading at first petrol was Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks' Saab on 25.19 (shows how tough the conditions were), from Worth Birkill/Dave Harris (Mini), Geoff Hall/Paul Bosdet (Cooper S), Dave Foster/Bernard Northmore (Cooper S) and Steve Powell/Dave Sanderson (Avenger).
Shortly into the second leg Geoff Hall's Cooper S began a death-rattle and he had no choice but to switch off quickly; it's thought that the nose-down landing after the hump-bridge may have surged the oil and cavitated the big ends. A tow rope led to the trailer and a long journey back to North Lancashire. So one-third of the rally gone and three retirements; thankfully despite the conditions we lost no more of the historics and all came into second petrol, still with Keith Jenkins ahead of Worth Birkill but with Dave Foster next showing he's lost none of his ability in the lanes, just ahead of Steve Powell. Most crews had been perilously close to OTL and even the most accomplished were thinking of cutting to stay in the event.
The final leg brought more mud, washouts and standing water, and for many crews the need to cut parts of the route hence the apparently high penalties for some. But Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks had returned to winning form just four minutes ahead of Worth Birkill/Dave Harris with the standard Hillman Avenger of Steve Powell/Dave Sanderson taking third historic. The Saab 96V4 of John Tatlow/Julie Westwood and the Kiff's VW Beetle both took class wins. John Kiff is an old hand from Motoring News days and commended the organisers on the toughest event for 35 years - I don't think many would disagree !
Historic results for the Carpetbagger Rally are:
1. Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks Saab 96V4 66.38
2. Worth Birkill/Dave Harris Morris Mini 70.16
3. Steve Powell/Dave Sanderson Avenger 104.11
4. Andy Nixon/David Taylor Mexico 112.19
5. Dave Foster/Bernard Northmore Cooper S 121.32
6. Dick Appleton/Rick Hands Cooper S 190.10
7. John Tatlow/Julie Westwood Saab 96V4 207.48
8. John Kiff/Edward Kiff VW Beetle 318.00
RETIREMENTS
Geoff Hall/Paul Bosdet Cooper S Ran main bearings
Wesley Massam/Mike Burrows Amazon Lost 1st & 2nd gears
Michael Pedley/David Pedley RS2000 Unknown
Bold print shows Maxsport contenders
Added: 20th January 2008 [permalink]
Andy Nixon/Dave Taylor are Maxsport Champions
Andy Nixon/Dave Taylor winning the Yorkshire Revival
In an action-packed Welsh Retro Rally the Mexico crew of Andy Nixon/Dave Taylor emerged victorious, a result that also gives them the overall title in the 2007 HRCR Night Rally Championship, supported by Maxsport Tyres.
Before the Welsh Retro the points scores were so close that the title could have gone to one of three drivers or four navigators. In particular, both Andy Nixon/Dave Taylor and Jon Wood/Paul Taylor knew that whoever finished above the other on the Retro would probably take the championship spoils. Neither crew could ignore Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks though; if Jenkins/Brooks won the Retro and another crew intervened to push Nixon/Taylor or Wood/Taylor down to third, then Jenkins/Brooks would take it - and the quick crew of Steve Powell/Dave Sanderson could just be the crew to make that 'intervention' on Steve's home turf ! With a following wind and a number of retirements it was even arithmetically possible for Bernard Northmore to come through to take the the navigators' title.
It had rained for days in South Wales and both the Wye and the Usk had burst their banks so crews were expecting lots of standing water and muddy whites. Drama began before the start when Jon Wood/Paul Taylor punctured on the trip-setting loop reducing them to a single spare wheel. Sadly that was to lead to their retirement on the opening leg to the south of Brecon when they were so unfortunate to pick up two further punctures in their Mini-Cooper (as well as a modest amount of body damage !). Game over, along with their Championship hopes.
Nixon/Taylor and Jenkins/Brooks were closely matched with little to choose after the opening section of jogularity and TC's that took them to the first petrol halt at Llandovery. Nixon/Taylor just had the edge on the jogularity and were lying third overall with Jenkins/Brooks seventh but the Saab crew came into petrol with a three and a half minute lead as the Mexico had missed a routecheck and picked up a five-minute penalty. Most historic crews do well on the jogularity section, indeed some modern crews will deliberately drop a minute just to follow an historic team with their greater experience. But if you get lost on a jogularity it can cause a problem - and this happened to the TR4 of Neil Revington/Bernard Northmore causing them to miss a number of controls.
The second leg went a long way west towards Carmarthen (Rally GB's route of the previous weekend constrains the Retro's available roads) where the Championship Coordinator and the Eligibility Scrutineer were marshalling - to the embarassment of Bernard Northmore whose car stalled there dropping them 3 minutes more ! It was clear that even at that point, less than halfway through the event that conditions were leading to a high retirement rate - amongst both historics and moderns.
By second petrol Nixon/ Taylor had built up a three minute lead over Jenkins/Brooks, which should be enough barring any incident. Steve Powell/Dave Sanderson were going well in their very standard Avenger; although Steve is a South-Walian, Dave is from Manchester and denied any sort of local knowledge so their performance was all the more creditable. It was also good to hear of the newly-appointed South Wales RLO taking robust action against badly-behaving spectators who could bring matters into disrepute!!
Jenkins/Brooks finally had to say goodbye to their Championship hopes partway through the final leg when front suspension problems intervened. Although they were eventually able to qualify as finishers it was only by missing a number of controls and incurring big penalties; that finish was critical however.
In the end Andy Nixon/Dave Taylor took an impressive event win and came sixth overall amongst a quality modern field in this final round of both the WAMC and ANWCC championships, probably the two toughest schools in the country. Steve Powell/Dave Sanderson were second historic with relatively low penalties for a standard car on a rotten night, whilst Neil Revington/Bernard Northmore's Triumph TR4 was a rather more distant third historic but earning Bernard the precious points he wanted.
Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks had a huge penalty, some way behind along with the unregistered Cooper S of Mike Mayne/Steve Bryant.
Amongst retirements, apart from the unfortunate Wood/Taylor, was the Saab 96V4 of John Tatlow/Julie Westwood with exhaust damage. Although unregistered they have contested many of the championship rounds as part of their 'learning curve' and are set to join us in 2008. Mention also of the RS2000 of Eric Jones/Harry Ward who come over each year from the USA to contest Le Jog but who stayed on this time to enter the Retro; the unfamiliar format and bad weather conditions may not have been kind to them but we hope to see them next year.
And so to the Championship :
Provisional positions at the end of the season are as follows:
DRIVERS
Andy Nixon (Escort Mexico) 92
Keith Jenkins (Saab 96V4) 82
Jon Wood (Mini Cooper) 74
Robert McClean (Rover P4-100) 70
Duncan Stonier (Volvo 144) 46
Steve Powell (Hillman Avenger) 27
Andy Lane (Escort Mexico) 21
Dick Appleton (Cooper S) 20
Keith Colman (Volvo PV544) 17
Giles Pursey (Escort Mexico) 14
Roy Gillingham (MGA) 11
Michael Pedley (Escort RS2000) 4
NAVIGATORS
David Taylor 92
Tony Brooks 82
Paul Taylor 74
Bernard Northmore 73 (apologies for an earlier error)
Susan McClean 70
Iain Tullie 21
Graham Carter 11
David Pedley 2
Well done to all who have supported us this year for a closely-fought contest. Congratulations to Andy Nixon/David Taylor particularly in their first year of contesting the series. Their season-long battle with fellow newcomers Jon Wood/Paul Taylor has been exciting as well as being conducted with great spirit. Keith Jenkins has now been runner-up each of the last three years; he promises to come back in 2008 to see if he can finally make it to the top. Jon Wood/Paul Taylor intend to complete their unfinished business too while Andy and Dave plan to defend their title. There have also been promises of a successful and experienced crew in an Imp, a former Champion returning and several newcomers too.
A full set of results, a formal bulletin and full details of our 2008 plans will be posted out to contenders in the next few days. Details of 2008 plans will be in the December edition of Old Stager and will appear on the website shortly.
Added: 10th December 2007 [permalink]
Ilfracombe Results
Jon Wood and Paul Taylor obviously found their 998 Cooper to be just right for the wet and slippy North Devon lanes. As well as finishing as best historic they also managed to mix it with the bigger cars by coming third overall.
Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks Saab 96V4 dropped 4 minutes early on and were unable to recover their defecit as the event had relatively few penalty-dropping opportunities for the top crews. They were second historic, ninth overall.
Duncan Stonier/Bernard Northmore came 16th overall, third historic, after a steady run in their Volvo. Duncan was taking care to preserve the car for Le Jog but was keen to do well enough to secure the ASWMC title. Bernard had felt unwell throughout the night but again was chasing ASWMC points.
Keith Colman/Dave Wilson retired their Volvo PV544.
Outside of the Championship, John Tatlow/Julie Westwood brought their Saab 96V4 into 20th place overall.
This result puts Jon Wood back on top of the Drivers' table - but on the same 74 points total as Andy Nixon ! Jon has three wins to Andy's two so gets the edge. Keith Jenkins lies third, again sharing 70 points with Robert McClean. Duncan Stonier cannot be caught for 5th place.
In the Navigators' table, Paul Taylor now has a two point lead on 74 points, from Dave Taylor on 72. Tony Brooks has 70, as does Susan McClean but Tony gains from having more high scores. Bernard Northmore is secure in 5th place but could climb higher with a good result on the Welsh Retro.
It's going down to the wire again.
Added: 25th November 2007 [permalink]
Jon Wood/Paul Taylor return to winning ways on the Harvest.
Now for something completely different. After the high moors and forests of the Yorkshire Revival it was down to high banks and muddy lanes for the next round. The Harvest Rally must also be the only event in the calendar where the Clerk of Course needs to check tide tables to see that the prospective route is passable !
It was back to business as usual for Jon Wood/Paul Taylor as they took maximum points on a very tight and twisty South Hams MC event held on 13/14 October. Jon cracked his sump on the Twilight Rally but found that the damage had also extended to main and big end bearings so missed the Yorkshire Revival. His Mini Cooper was the ideal choice for the very narrow South Devon lanes where junctions occurred one after another. As well as best historic he took fourth place overall.
Things could have been much closer had Andy Nixon/Dave Taylor not gone off-route for a 7 minute tour; without that penalty they would have tied with Jon/Paul with exactly 40 minutes of penalties. The Championship Coordinator had been entrusted with the clock at the end of the only 'timed to the second' tie-decider but this section was subsequently cancelled when a Nova spun and blocked the very narrow lane badly delaying a number of crews including the McCleans and the Stewarts. It could have gone down to 'furthest cleanest'.
Duncan Stonier/Bernard Northmore may have more local knowledge than the North Country crews ahead of them but it's still a big achievement to get a Volvo 144 around such a tight route. Similarly Robert and Susan McClean had to work hard in the Rover P4-100 and had to cut after the blockage brought them close to OTL but they still maintained their 100% finishing record.
Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks parked their Saab 96V4 up early on the opening leg and took no further part after their clutch exploded jamming the flywheel. The Pedley brothers non-started.
Among non-championship crews, John Tatlow/Julie Westwood had more success with their Saab and must be pleased with their good finish while father and son Geoff and Andy Stewart had a tidy run in their MGB.
At the finish of the event, Clerk of Course Andy Ballantyne announced that this would be the last Harvest Rally run to the present format after four successful years. He finished his term with a classic, even thinking quickly and averting problems when faced with his agreed petrol halt failing to open up. There is always a holiday atmosphere to this most hospitable event; let's hope this continues with the club's plans for the future.
1. Jon Wood/Paul Taylor Mini Cooper 40m
2. Andy Nixon/Dave Taylor Mexico 47m
3. Duncan Stonier/Bernard Northmore Volvo 70m
4. John Tatlow/Julie Westwood Saab 96V4 90m
5. Geoff Stewart/Andy Stewart MGB 151m
6. Robert McClean/Susan McClean Rover P4-100 252m
Retired : Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks Saab 96V4
Non-starter: Michael Pedley/David Pedley RS2000
Ppositions at the top of the Drivers' Championship remain unchanged. However Andy Nixon must miss Ilfracombe due to a prior engagement whilst Robert McClean will now be dropping significant scores as he has scored well on each round so far. He may also be unable to fit the final two rounds into his busy schedule that includes Rally of the Tests and Le Jog. Good results by Keith Jenkins and Jon Wood could also bring them back to the top.
David Taylor has now taken a two point lead in the Navigators' Championship from Susan McClean, with Tony Brooks and Paul Taylor also still in with a shout. Bernard Northmore isn't far behind either but both Bernard and David Taylor are looking anxiously for rides at Ilfracombe as their regular drivers aren't available.
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS
DRIVERS
Andy Nixon 74
Robert McClean 70
Keith Jenkins 55
Jon Wood 54
Duncan Stonier 31
NAVIGATORS
Dave Taylor 72
Susan McClean 70
Tony Brooks 55
Paul Taylor 54
Bernard Northmore 45
Added: 14th October 2007 [permalink]
Yorkshiremen revive Championship hopes !
Ilkley & DMC's Yorkshire Revival Rally team had trawled through its own archives and those of Ian Mills to research the history of what was apparently the first ever Motoring News Rally at the beginning of the 1960's. Many former competitors had provided stories or photos too and the club was able to include many of the old test venues and several of the classic night sections to relaunch this old favourite.
Andy Nixon and David Taylor are obviously the in-form crew of the moment and took first overall and top points on what proved a most testing event. They took their Mexico to victory over 30 miles of tests and 180 miles of night rallying in an event run jointly for historic and endurance cars. Having worked hard all afternoon and all night Dave Taylor also needed to join others in discussions with the results team about discounting a codeboard that had gone walkabout in the strong winds up on Stang Moor, but which reappeared after a late runner had found it and put it back in place. They also took top Tartan points.
Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks took yet another second place in their Saab 96V4, having twice to work to repair their exhaust when a joint pulled apart. Night road rallying has strict rules about sound levels and they would not have been permitted to restart after supper until it was fixed.
Next Championship contenders were the McCleans in their Rover P4, an unlikely car on the tighter tests but showing great traction off the line and proving a favourite with all the marshals. They came in to their own on the long night Jogularity section that took them through Stang Forest and over the tops of Swaledale and Wensleydale and into petrol, Susan's long experience of Le Jog and Rally of the Tests proving a big advantage.
The much-fancied RS2000 crew of Michael and David Pedley had a short event. Struggling with oil pressure from the start they called it a day after the Boltby tests and came into the supper halt on a tow rope behind Chris Winter/Charles Hamilton's Volvo.
Outside of the Championship crews, the MGB crew of Ernest Calvert/Bryan Smith declared the event was 'fantastic', obviously pleased with their third place despite a couple of errors on the early tests at Rufforth and Tholthorpe and pleased that (like many others) they had achieved immortality by having their names used on codeboards ! They won their class.
Long-distance regulars Kenny MacEwan/John Ingham took their Cooper S to fourth place. They were one of a number of Tartan Championship crews who made the journey to Yorkshire.
Nigel Middlehurst/Nick Cooper were popular class winners in their Austin A40, now with the demon-tweek of the championship coordinator's old axle ! Again they had to work on their exhaust before starting the night leg. Whilst 99% of the mileage of the four Boltby tests had been recently regraded and were in excellent condition, the last 100 metres of the final test had not been improved and caused several cars to regret hitting it so fast. With hindsight the organisers should have stopped the last test before the final climb.
Ron Kendall/Les McGuffog brought their Anglia in to a good finish, again perhaps benefiting from a new diff. Along with Adrian Stewart/Roy Kemp (Cooper S) they are Tartan points scorers.
Among retirements, Andy Beaumont/Ian Gibbins retired their potent RS2000 after just a couple of tests having struggled all week with halfshaft problems, Brian Cope/Peter Cox had clutch failure whilst still on the first timecard of the day while Keith Leckie/John Harbottle chose to withdraw their beautiful Renault Alpine after the Boltby tests fearing underbody damage. Chris Winter/Charles Hamilton's Volvo 144 left the fray somewhere in the second half of the night leg having been well on the pace both on the tests and the first half of the night. Gordon and Lisa Furness also retired 'Humphrey the Hornet' at this point as did Paddy Jones/Tony Longstaff in their Cortina.
Andy Nixon's result puts him into a slender one point lead in the drivers' championship with 57 against Robert McClean's 56. Keith Jenkins is on 53 whilst Jon Wood has 34. In the navigators' table, Susan McClean just retains her lead on 56, while David Taylor moves up to 55 with current champion Tony Brooks on 53 and Paul Taylor on 34. Much can change, particularly as the McCleans may miss rounds as they have a heavy schedule that includes Rally of the Tests and Le Jog; Jon Wood/Paul Taylor are also likely to return to the fray. Remember that with a reduced championship of 7 rounds, the best 5 scores count. It looks as if Andy Lane/Iain Tullie and the Pedley brothers will have to wait until next year if they want to lift the Championship spoils.
Mention must certainly be made of the Cooper S of Pete Tyson/Neil Harrison. Although their car fully complies with 'historic' specification, they chose to enter the Endurance part of the rally alongside the bigger modern FWD saloons - and came 2nd overall !! They did this so as to tackle the additonal two tests and seven miles of night leg that were deemed too rough for prospective 'historic' cars.
Some had questioned whether it was feasible to run a combined event for historic and endurance categories but by dint of sound test design and choice of venue, together with the principal organisers' wide experience of both disciplines, Ilkley & District MC seemed to pull it off.
Added: 17th September 2007 [permalink]
Tykes succeed at Twilight
The Yorkshire crew of Andy Nixon and David Taylor took maximum points on Ecurie Cymraeg's Twilight Rally in Gwent ahead of the Saab 96V4 of Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks. Andy and Dave also kept up the tradition of getting historics amongst the top WAMC 'modern' cars by taking tenth overall as well as best historic. Third placed was the Rover P4 of Robert and Susan McClean and they become the only championship crew to have scored on every round of the year. The event had a very high attrition rate with half of the overall entry retiring; indeed half of our registered contenders retired on this very testing event. The format was unusual in that the whole event was contained within a long evening and used off-road venues such as Caerwent for both regularity and 'timed to the minute' sections before proceeding to more traditional road sections.
Andy Lane/Iain Tullie retired their Mexico with what was thought to be a holed radiator but later also found to be a blown head gasket. Jon Wood/Paul Taylor cracked the sump of their 998 Cooper whilst the Volvo 144 of Duncan Stonier/Bernard Northmore dropped out with brake master cylinder problems.
Outside of the championship, John Tatlow/Julie Westwood's Saab won its class whilst Tony Sheach/John Kiff took second in their class in the familar Triumph TR4.
This puts the McCleans at the top of the tables. Robert leads the drivers on 41 points, with Andy Nixon on 37, Keith Jenkins on 36 and Jon Wood on 34. Susan McClean is leading navigator on 41 with Tony Brooks on 36, David Taylor on 35 and Paul Taylor on 34.
With only the best 5 rounds to count from the reduced total of 7 rounds (see News item) the championship is still wide open. Four rounds remain so even those who have yet to make an impact can have a chance to get to the top of the table.
The tough Yorkshire Revival is the next round and with Iain Tullie on organisational duty, along with the championship coordinator, things could swap around a bit. Will local crew Nixon/Taylor gain from their local knowledge, will the Pedleys use their stage rally experience to advantage on the 30 miles of tests. or will the ever-reliable McCleans quietly continue to stack up the points again ? Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks are also due for a good result and Tony has experience of this style of event. Jon Wood has had to withdraw due to his Twilight damage.
Added: 14th September 2007 [permalink]
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